How do you express Breast Milk?

Before pumping or expressing breast milk by hand use these tips for better success:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Drink plenty of water and have some of it near your when you express.

3. Massage
your breast with your fingertips circling around on the breast tissue.
Start from the armpit and work your way to the aureola area. Finish with
the long strokes across the breast. Do so on both breasts.

If
I was pumping because I was engorged, a warm shower always helped me to
start a nice flow of my milk. Even a massage is not needed then. Milk
starts pouring.

If you are at work, try putting a warm wet cloth on your breast.

4. Think about your baby or look at his picture if he is not near you.

5. Try to relax and be stress free. Find a calm and quiet place to pump. Make sure you feel safe and comfortable.

6. Try pumping as much as you can. As often as you would nurse. Or at least 3-4 times a day.

7. Always pump or express AFTER the breastfeeding (if you are breastfeeding).

8. You should express your breast milk in any clean container with a wide opening.

Expressing breast milk by hand

So how would you express milk if you don’t use breast pump?

Simply, by hand.

Did you know that you
don’t need an expensive breast pump to express your milk. For many
years women have been doing it without them and they were fine. Yes, the
pumps might save you some time, but it does add some frustration,
aggravation and stress which is not good for a nursing mother.

I
think every mother should learn how to express breast milk by hand. You
might need to do it in extra situations where fancy electric breast
pumps might not be available.

While this doesn’t sound very complicated, my tips might save you some time and maybe even sore nipples.

Use these tips when expressing breast milk by hand:

I adjusted the Marmet Technique to my likings to express breast milk by hand.

1. Place
your thumb little above the nipple, position other 2 fingers below the
nipple (about 1.5” away from the nipple). Make sure all 3 fingers are
in the same vertical line forming letter “C” with your hand.

2. Press. Keep your fingers in the same position.

3. Roll your fingers towards the nipple as you squeeze the breast.

The trick is to put pressure on the milk ducts behind your nipple, rather than squeezing the nipple itself.

Repeat this action until breast milk doesn’t come out or very little comes out.

POSITION -> PRESS -> ROLL

Do not do this while expressing breast milk:

1. Do not squeeze the breast, because it can bruise and irritate the breast.

2. Do not slide with your hand over the breast, because it can actually cause skin burns.

3. Do not pull the nipple, because it can damage breast tissue.

Kellymom.com uses this information to estimate the average amount of milk baby will need at a feeding:

Estimate the number of times that baby nurses per day (24 hours).

Then divide 25 oz by the number of nursings.

This gives you a “ballpark” figure for the amount of expressed milk your exclusively breastfed baby will need at one feeding.

How fast and how much can I express by hand?

With some practice and determination you will be a pro in expressing breast milk by hand.

Actually I was able to express more breast milk by hand then by a manual breast pump.

Every
women is different. It depends on how is your milk flow. For example, I
have been lucky, because when I express by hand my milk “shoots” across
the room on the wall and I can fill 4-6 ounces in 15 minutes.

Watch this video to visualize better the expressing breast milk by hand

Normally 15-30 on each breast, but every woman's milk flow is different, so as long as you see milk is coming keep on going.

How much of breast milk should I express during 1 session?

Again,
as every women is different, there is not 1 answer. However, even if 30
minutes of active manual pumping produced only few ounces of milk,
don’t be frustrated because that stress might be one of the reasons your
let-down is low. Try using tips above to increase the let-down and get
more milk. And keep in mind that every drop of breast milk counts.

Pumping withelectric breast pumps

If you are a working mother, expressing breast milk with electric pump might the best option for you.

There are few kinds of electric breast pumps:

1. Large electric pumps(or "hospital-grade"). These are very heavy, big and of course very expensive. But they are perfect for establishing some breast milk. You can usually rent these pumps from hospitals.

2. Regular consumer electric breast pumps. These pumps are perfect for working mothers since they come in a descret black bags and they are not as big and heavy. Their cost is lower too ($200-$300).

3. Small electric or battery breast pumps. They are cheaper (about $50). These pumps are only good if you need to pump once in a while.

Keep in mind that the motor of electric breast pumps lose some of its power after about 1 year.

containers that are not filled up to the top. Make sure to leave 1” till the top, because breast milk expands when it freezes.

it is washed in hot, soapy water and air-dried properly.

consider putting 2-4 oz of breast milk not to waste it.

always mark the date and the name of your baby (if he is fed in daycare) on the storage containers.

make sure to always use to oldest breast milk.

There is a big
variety of breast milk storage in the market. You can store breast milk
in milk storage bags, milk storage plastic bottles, glass bottles,
plastic cups with tight lids, there are special trays to put in the
freezer. Anything to keep that breast milk as good as we can.